This Bill Improves Transparency, Management of Federal Land Ownership

The House Committee on Natural Resources July 26 passed H.R. 2199, the “Federal Land Asset Inventory Reform Act of 2017” or the “FLAIR Act.” Introduced by Rep. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), the bipartisan bill requires the Department of the Interior to create a publicly available register of federal real property to increase transparency and improve management of the federal estate.

“Federal land managers often do not have a precise picture of what lands the federal government owns because there is not one accurate database of federal lands and their boundaries. The FLAIR Act increases transparency and efficiency by conducting an inventory of its federal property holdings and integrating the findings into one database that can track and manage property. By adopting the FLAIR Act, we can improve federal land management, resource conservation, and environmental protection, all while reducing land ownership conflict and saving taxpayer dollars in the maintenance of one, efficient database,”Rep. Cramer said.